- The Toyota NS4 plug-in-hybrid sedan may hint at elements of the next Prius, although Toyota says it was envisioned as "removed from the Prius family." It debuted on Tuesday at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show.
- The four-passenger NS4 previews a sportier, less conservative look for Toyota.
- The NS4 provides a glimpse at Toyota's next-generation hybrid drive system, which will be smaller and lighter with better fuel economy.
DETROIT — The Toyota NS4 plug-in-hybrid sedan may hint at elements of the next Prius, although Toyota says it was envisioned at "removed from the Prius family." It debuted on Tuesday at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show.
The four-passenger NS4 previews a sportier, less conservative look for Toyota. The NS4 also provides a glimpse at Toyota's next-generation hybrid drive system — due out in about three years — which will be smaller and lighter with better fuel economy. No fuel-economy projections were provided, however.
"The NS4 was envisioned as a dedicated plug-in hybrid separate and removed from the Prius family," said Toyota in a statement.
However, certain elements, such as design cues and the new hybrid drive system, may end up in the next Prius. One key detail was missing in Toyota's presentation of the NS4 — that is, whether a future Toyota plug-in hybrid will have the older nickel-metal-hydride battery pack or adopt the newer lithium-ion battery pack.
The silhouette of the NS4 is what Toyota calls a "modified triangle." One key design element is a solar panel roof.
The NS4 also previews Toyota's next-generation pre-collision system, which uses millimeter wave radar and stereo cameras, as well as the automaker's adaptive driving beam headlights, said to "three-dimensionally tailor where the light beam is targeted," thus improving visibility for the driver.
Toyota said the central theme of the NS4 is "the human connection to the car." The concept features a multi-touch screen "with the look and feel of a smartphone," said Toyota. The human-machine interface in the NS4 can "learn" driver preferences "to anticipate driver responses in specific environments and situations," the company said.
Inside Line says: Not exactly a racy look, but a little less cautious for usually conservative Toyota as it scopes out its future plug-in hybrid.
Add A Comment »
fandiesel says:
06:41 AM, 01/11/2012
Honda "be wish-in" they could come up with something like this.
ttbuyer says:
04:10 AM, 01/11/2012
Something about the front end treatment reminds me of Dr. Zoidberg from FUTURAMA.
frank908 says:
07:17 PM, 01/10/2012
Looks like Lincoln shared some of it's rejected MKZ designs with Toyota. Both are equally creepy looking.
tbone85 says:
06:42 PM, 01/10/2012
QDP, I'm a little freaked out about this, but I agree with you 100%.
fantastic says:
01:30 PM, 01/10/2012
Which this was the Camry!
qdp says:
12:32 PM, 01/10/2012
Looks better than the current Prius. This is way to go for the future Prius' exterior styling
jmaroun says:
10:14 AM, 01/10/2012
Looks like an Alfio
nwng says:
09:16 AM, 01/10/2012
@damaje,
must have snatched a designer from alfa
1919diesel says:
08:58 AM, 01/10/2012
Maybe less of a Prius and more of a next-gen Camry hybrid?
I wonder if this "thing" previews any overall design direction for Toyota. It's better looking than their current bland & boring.... I could see some of this going into the next new Camry (2016?), assuming by then they can't just do a refresh of the current new Camry, which is the 3rd generation of the same basic design (and looking long-in-the-tooth already).
damaje says:
08:26 AM, 01/10/2012
Looks like a curvier Volt designed in Italy.